Global property watch: the week that was

Airbnb in Tel Aviv and a London mansion for £13.50, a round-up of world property news

4 months ago

Tel Aviv

By Kate Youde

Five stories making global property headlines:

Airbnb causes Tel Aviv rent increases

Airbnb has helped push up rent in Tel Aviv by about 10 per cent, Bloomberg data suggest. At $188 per night, the Israeli city ranks fourth in Bloomberg’s new index of the world’s most expensive cities for Airbnb rentals, based on the average daily cost of lodging.

Middle Eastern cities take five of the top 20 spots; Tel Aviv is joined by Dubai, Jerusalem, Riyadh and Kuwait City. Miami and Boston in the US, and Reykjavik in Iceland, top the list.

UK crackdown on offshore owners

Foreign companies that own UK property will be required to reveal their true owners on a public register under new draft legislation. The Guardian newspaper reported that the register is part of a crackdown on money laundering. Penalties include a ban on a foreign entity selling or leasing a property without publicly declaring its beneficial owner, with those that fail to comply facing up to five years in jail and an unlimited fine.

Australian house prices set to fall further

A “mini-credit crunch” in Australia, aggravated by rising global interest rates and cautious lending from banks, means property prices could fall further before they start to rise again, according to Deloitte, the professional services firm. Business Insider Australia reported that house prices have dropped more than 16 per cent from their peak in mid-2014.

Prices of existing US homes at record high

Sales of previously owned homes in the US fell for the third consecutive month in June while prices reached a record high amid a “severe housing shortage”, the Financial Times reported. Figures from the National Association of Realtors revealed that existing-home sales fell 0.6 per cent in June. Lack of supply and robust demand helped the median existing-home price to a new high of $276,900, a year-on-year increase of 5.2 per cent.

Win a mansion for £13.50

The owners of Dancers Hill House, which has six bedrooms, four acres of land and a lake holding more than 2,000 fish, have chosen an unusual way to shift their home: a prize draw. According to the Evening Standard, the London newspaper, UK residents could own the grade II-listed Georgian mansion in Barnet, 14 miles north of central London, which is valued at around £5m, for the price of a £13.50 ticket.